Unplanned Meetings
by Charlotte-san
Summary: The seemingly normal lives of Hitsugaya Toshiro and Kurosaki Karin are about to be disrupted. When Karakura needs a new Shinigami posted there, Toshiro goes to learn more about the area before assigning someone from his division there. Once he's there, he meets Karin, and neither of their lives are the same. Important author's note at beginning.
1. Her Life

_Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, if I did then I highly doubt that anyone would read/watch it much less write fanfics about it! Actually, I don't own ANY of the characters, they're all stolen from Bleach (You'll understand once you get into the story)_

_This is based off of the manga, however it's post-series, and essentially Karin does not know Toshiro, or much about the Soul Society. Karin and Yuzu are sixteen, Ichigo nineteen._

_It's not just a quick fluffy read and the build-up to the romance takes quite a while seeing as how they've never met before. In case you couldn't tell, I actually put thought into this one, so you'll have to deal with sibling love between our two fiery Kurosaki children, as well as some humorous Urahara beating (fictionally of course. Ichigo just couldn't help but beat him up while I was writing this…)_

* * *

Kurosaki Karin would like it to be put on the record that no matter what her brother thought, he was not being sneaky about his secret life. Granted she didn't know _exactly_ what he was doing in his spare time, but she knew he was up to something. This leads us to our current predicament: Karin waiting for Ichigo to return. His body was there of course, but he wasn't there, like in his body there. Karin still didn't know how to describe it. All she had wanted to do was ask Ichigo if he was planning on going over to Urahara's Store after soccer practice with her and Yuzu who went with to help out. Normally they wouldn't need Ichigo to go with, but lately there had been quite a few "mysterious" deaths around Karakura and their father was wary to have the two girls go out on their own. Now she was stuck with her brother's seemingly lifeless body in his room waiting for him to actually return.

_Damn it Ichigo! If only you would just tell me what was going on I'd know what I can do to help. It's probably all your fault anyway._ While Karin's thoughts took a doubtlessly childish turn, she was still aware of her surroundings. So when an orange lion plushy poked its head out of Ichigo's closet her gaze was immediately drawn there and she didn't waste her time. In seconds the lion was hanging upside down with Karin's hand which was firmly holding the flailing stuffed toy.

"I've seen you around the house," Karin started, not a question and Kon cursed his luck to be caught by the more observant of the two twins, "I want to know who you are, why you're here and what you have to do with Ichigo's disappearances."

Kon started to fidget uncomfortably, and if he had the proper body functions, would be sweating under the glare of the middle Kurosaki child. He was saved from answering when Ichigo came stumbling into the room via his window. He was bloodied, thankfully from many superficial cuts and no major ones, Karin noted with the release of a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding. If her brother had been aware of her presence he hadn't given her any acknowledgement yet, instead choosing to go to his desk and clumsily wrestle a first-aid kit out of one of his drawers.

"Shit!" Ichigo cursed as he tried to open the plastic container but his blood caused his fingers to slip around the box. He finally gave up and flung the container towards an annoyed Kon who was still being held by a wide-eyed Karin.

"Well," Karin shook her head and unceremoniously dumped Kon on the floor. Ichigo quickly looked over at Karin and froze as if though that would prevent her from seeing him, the 'deer-in-the-headlights' look not really befitting of the tall ginger. Karin snorted and picked up the discarded kit, opening it with ease, "I don't think that this first-aid kit really deserved that Ichigo. Besides, you need better supplies with all of the injuries you have. I'll be right back, and by the time I get back, you better be ready to tell me the truth, and all of it."

Her brother nodded dumbly before cringing slightly at the heated glare sent his way before Karin left the room. Once she had he collapsed into his chair with a groan, "Shit. Shit. Shit."

"You can't hide this from her anymore Ichigo," Kon said as he reappeared on the desk, "She knows quite a bit actually, and your excuses aren't cutting it anymore."

"I know!" Ichigo snapped half-heartedly, "I just didn't want to tell her now, because then she'll be pulled into the Seireitei like I was. I don't want her to have to go through high school like I did, a foot in each world but unable to really be in either. It sucks and she could get killed because of it!" He groaned before burrowing his head into his arms and tried to come up with a satisfactory explanation for his sister.

* * *

Karin tried to sneak down the stairs as quietly as she could, but with her crazy father she should have known he'd hear her. She had made it into the clinic but when she opened the cupboard containing bandages he startled her by speaking in an unusually serious voice.

"Why do you need bandages Karin?" She turned around to find her father standing a few feet away, arms crossed and an expression she'd seen during busy days at the clinic covering his features.

"Uh, Ichigo and I were having a disagreement and he cut his hand punching his, er, bedpost. He just needed some bandages to wrap around his hand," It wasn't exactly a lie, but Karin knew it wasn't the whole truth either. Apparently her father knew that too. He simply sighed and moved over to grab the tape from a drawer then tossed it over to Karin.

"Just tell the idiot if he's going to get hurt on the job he better learn to take care of his own wounds. Now go on, the three of us are going to have a very long talk tomorrow about this but right now you need to milk as much information outta the damn idiot that you can," With that Karin was gently pushed out of the clinic area and back up the stairs by her father, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. When she finally got back to Ichigo's room she had managed to realize that yes, that was her father speaking so seriously, and also hinting that he already knew about Ichigo's late night comings and goings.

"Goat Chin says learn to care for yourself," She muttered as she opened the door to her brother's room and he looked up only mildly surprised at her announcement, "Well get up and let me see what the hell you cut up." Ichigo complied while clearing his throat.

"It all started about four years ago, when I was fifteen…"

* * *

"Wow."

"I know. It's a lot to take in right now, but-" Ichigo was cut off by Karin's sisterly punch to the face.

"Why did you hide all of that from me?!" Karin asked loudly before quieting down when she realized Yuzu was in the next room, "I can't believe you never shared any of that with me Ichigo! Why now though, what changed? Is it because you're going to college?"

"As usual Karin, you're way too observant for your own good. Yeah, since I'm going to college next month I've asked the Gotei 13 to send in a captain to this area for a while, at least until they find someone capable enough to assign here. Since this place is such a cluster-fuck of reiatsu, they need to determine how strong of a Shinigami to send here. I expect you to stay away from them, I don't need you getting involved like I did," Ichigo, who had long since gotten back into his body, looked at his sister who had taken up residence in his desk chair and was slowly turning herself as she processed the information running through her mind.

"Well shit, if I have to nearly kill myself to be like you I'd rather wait! Besides, I have all the time in the world to become a Shinigami" Karin tried to snort but yawned instead. The clock on the desk read one a.m. and the sixteen-year-old had an early soccer practice in the morning, "Do you promise not to go running off again tonight?" Even though she got a nod from Ichigo, Karin didn't believe him. She looked around the room momentarily before getting up and nudging Ichigo off the bed, "Go shower, you stink even though you were completely unathletic in your human body," She wrinkled her nose and grinned cheekily when her brother followed her commands.

She sat on his bed, leaning against the headboard, while she thought about everything she'd been told. The late night strain on her brain didn't agree with her however and soon she was sleeping, propped up in the corner of the walls on Ichigo's bed. When he walked back into his room, Ichigo chuckled at his spitfire sister looking almost innocent in her sleep before moving her into a more comfortable position. He finished drying off his hair before he grabbed Rukia's bedroll from the closet and spread it out on the floor next to his bed and fell asleep as well.

* * *

The next morning was an interesting one for Karin. Not only did she wake up in Ichigo's room, but she woke up to her father attempting to place the nineteen-year-old teenager into the bed with her…

…which resulted in a swift kick to the older man's face and a shove to Ichigo who woke up and did the same thing. Both of the teenagers walked past the unconscious man and downstairs, where they were surprised to find that it was already nine in the morning and Yuzu had gone over to a friend's house.

"Why didn't anybody get me up for practice? Now I'm going to be late, which means extra workouts! I can't have extra workouts, I'm the soccer captain, they'll try to take my position away!" Karin snarled at her father who walked back down the stairs as if he hadn't been punched in the face five minutes ago. She was about to turn her full anger onto the man when she noticed his seriousness once again and wisely shut her mouth.

"Wait, what's going on here? Am I missing something?" Ichigo asked as he looked between the two and scratched his head.

"I take it that long talk you mentioned last night happens now while Yuzu is outta the house, huh Goat Chin?" Karin sighed as her father nodded.

"It's only right that since the both of you know about Seireitei and the Soul Society that you know everything about them. Karin, I'm certain that you're wondering about some of the terms Ichigo was predictably too impatient to explain and Ichigo you're wondering about how this is going to affect the future," Both of the teenagers nodded their heads mutely. When their father got like this, the best thing to do was to listen to him.

Kurosaki Isshin was proud of each of his children, all for different reasons. Despite their grief after their mother was ripped from them by a Hollow, unknown to them at the time, they managed to survive in the world, and succeed in their own ways. Yuzu had taken the role of mother and housekeeper for the other two, trying to gain some semblance of the family before their loss. Ichigo had overcome many challenges thrown his way, most of them coming from many of Isshin's old comrades. He had broken into the Seireitei and saved the woman he loved, even if he was too dense to realize it at the time. Not only that but he still was able to keep his grades high enough to not only graduate but get a scholarship to a University not too far away.

And how could he forget his middle child, Karin? She had taken it upon herself to become less of a burden on the family. The only price was her tears and sadness. She became the tough twin for Yuzu to lean on whenever the other girl needed it. Not only that, but much like her older brother she inspired a loyalty in people to join together and fight for what they want. Although she was only sixteen, she was well on her way to becoming a Shinigami like her brother whether she wanted to or not, which is something Isshin would always look at with regret. Not that his children were born, because they were the three most important things to him. No, he regretted that they would be unable to live normal lives, and all because of his past.

"I know you don't want your sister involved with the affairs of the Gotei 13 Ichigo, but she's going to be soon whether you want that or not. Karin, that doesn't mean I'm giving you permission to go off and fight Hollows all day, it means that soon you're going to have that added responsibility on your shoulders. I know it's difficult not being able to really be a part of the Seireitei, but don't rush your time here on Earth. Now, I'll answer your guys' questions, but only until the Clinic opens, then you two are to Urahara's to train in hand-to-hand combat."

The Kurosaki children looked at one another before launching a barrage of questions at their father.

* * *

Whatever Karin had been expecting in Urahara's basement, this wasn't it. A torture chamber? Sure. A room full of perverted things? Definitely. A mad scientist's lab? That was a given. But a gigantic underground cavern painted to look like a sunny day in a desert? Nope, that didn't even make her list. So naturally when the she found out the true design of Urahra's basement she was full of questions.

"How long did this take him? Hell, HOW did he do it?"

"No one knows other than him, Yoruichi and Tessai."

"Why take the time to paint the sky to look like a sunny day?"

"The dude's crazy, what'd you expect?"

"True," Karin found it difficult to keep her mouth closed as she gazed around the cavernous area. However soon she was distracted by the shop keeper himself.

"Shouldn't children be in school?" The blonde man hid his face behind his fan, but Ichigo caught the smirk hidden there.

"Oi Urahara! You told me that Hollow last night was only a low-level one, but instead it was a huge one. Clever too," Ichigo said as he stepped menacingly closer to the now-sweating shop keeper. Before Karin could say 'soccer' the two were fighting a short distance away. Ichigo's body was now inhabited by the Mod Soul he had eaten and was humming off-tune to some pop song. Karin watched amused as Ichigo punched the blonde in jaw, the older man still landing neatly on his feet.

"Those two go at it almost every time they see each other," A feminine voice commented from beside her. Karin jumped away and looked to the source of the voice, who turned out to be a beautiful woman, tanned and with long purple hair. Her bright yellow eyes glittered with amusement at the teenage girl, "I'm Yoruichi Shihoin, Flash Step Goddess at your service. Your old man called ahead and I figured I'd make you a deal. You become my next student. It gets boring around here and I can't go and visit Soi Fon as often as I'd like to, so what do you say?"

Karin only had to think about it for a minute, "Deal. I'd rather have you teach me than Strawberry over there."

"Good, we'll start immediately. Now, we'll just work on getting the technique for punches down today, tomorrow expect to start sparring with me."

With that Karin began following Yoruichi's lead in the different styles of punches and kicks. Unknown to them, and to Ichigo and Urahara who were still fighting some distance away, the Captain visitor of theirs was already there, and not certain how to feel about accepting this mission.

* * *

Hitsugaya Toshiro prided himself on being a flexible worker. He could do a mountain of paperwork in an hour flat and still have the energy to train his squad after, or he could go on a Hollow elimination mission and come back in time for the Captain's meeting. However, when he had been approached about working in Karakura for a month to two months while gaining information on the Hollow infestations there, he had made the choice with relatively little knowledge on the mission. All he could think about was shoving his paperwork off onto some other unsuspecting captain, probably Kuchiki seeing as how the noble seemed to spend little time doing it, and spending time away from the politics of the Gotei 13.

Now that he was here in the World of the Living, he was beginning to regret that decision. Although he knew that it was Kurosaki that had requested someone be sent here while he was away at college, he had never really thought about the Substitute's life outside of being just a substitute. From where he stood on top of a cliff in Urahara's he could make out Kurosaki chasing Urahara around the basement training area, no doubt about one of the shop keeper's antics. Not only that, but a girl he didn't recognize was training in hand-to-hand combat with Yoruichi.

She had black hair, probably down to a little past her shoulders if it hadn't been tied up, and pale skin. For a moment, when looking at her from behind, he had almost mistaken her for his sister Momo, but that changed the second she turned around and he saw her face. It was a pretty face, one would almost say delicate by the way her small nose turned up a little at the end, or how her mouth seemed to be the perfect size and shape. Her eyes however, drove all thoughts of delicateness out Toshiro's mind. They were a stormy grey, with all of the fierce determination of the elder Kurosaki in them. There were no signs of a girl who had been brought up to be the so-called perfect housewife, doting and caring, instead there was sarcasm and amusement hidden in them as she observed Kurosaki's antics.

However her small break was interrupted by a cuff to the back of the head by Yoruichi and they continued practicing. The girl moved with a gracefulness surprising for one that looked so young, Toshiro guessing her age to be around sixteen or seventeen. Granted he didn't look too much older, but his growth spurt was just beginning. As he watched her go through the sparring techniques, he never noticed Kurosaki's appearance by his side until the Substitute spoke.

"She's pretty amazing huh?" Toshiro managed to hide his noise of shock as a grunt of agreement before glancing at Kurosaki out of the corner of his eye. The tall teenager was watching the girl with a certain fondness, something akin to how he looked at Momo, like he was proud of her. However, before the captain prodigy could form his question of how the girl was related to Kurosaki, the teenager answered it, "She's my younger sister Karin, a twin actually. Her and Yuzu are as different as night and day though. While Yuzu takes care of all of us like a mom, Karin tries to be less of a burden. She's been trying to figure out about the Soul Society and Shinigami for a while now, I only just told her last night. Now she's foolishly trying to replace me while I'm away at college, hell even while I'm still here, even though I've been telling her that you're coming."

"She sounds a lot like you," Was all Toshiro could find to say in reply. Kurosaki looked at him with an unusual seriousness clouding his features and raw emotion in his voice.

"Those two are my entire life here in the World of the Living, if anything would happen to them," Kurosaki shook his head as if dispelling the negative thoughts, "Don't put them in danger Captain Hitsugaya, especially not Karin. She'll try to interfere with your work here, but she's not nearly strong enough to handle Hollow elimination on her own, let alone do konso. And just remember, if anything does happen to them, I know who to look for."

If Toshiro had been stunned by the abnormal show of emotion by the young half-human, he was shocked that he actually used his full title. Once again his gaze was drawn to the teenage girl now running with Yoruichi and grinning through the sweat and grime as they occasionally stopped to exchange punches and kicks. Now he could see the similarities between the two; they both had a similar stance when they weren't moving, although they were both constantly in action of some sort, and both of them carried that fierce determination that Toshiro had noted earlier. It was the kind of determination that drew others, both weaker and stronger than them, towards themselves, and created a seemingly rag-tag group of close friends.

"I assure you, even if she had no relation to you or if she couldn't see me, I wouldn't allow her to get hurt. Now let's go, I need to know this place well enough to be able to move around quickly, and I only have a month before you're gone. I'm assuming you want your sister involved with this as little as possible, so lead the way Kurosaki," The teenager nodded before excusing himself to go and explain to his sister he was leaving. As they left Toshiro looked back at Karin one last time, and then followed the teenager to the outside world.

* * *

A month passed by in a blur for Karin, who was kept extremely busy between soccer practice, training with Yoruichi and of course keeping her busy schedule hidden from her friends. Way too soon for her liking, they had dropped Ichigo off at the college of his choice in a nice town an hour away. For the next week Karin tried to readjust to the quiet in the house, unused to the lack of crashing coming from her brother's room. It went fairly well, although now her training was getting increasingly difficult. Yoruichi had started teaching her something called kido, and it took a lot of energy out of her right now. It was one night after walking home exhausted from the day's training, six days after Ichigo had left (she wasn't counting or anything) that Karin finally met her brother's Shinigami replacement.

"Ah man, Today was brutal! I'm so excited to get home and shower before crashing in bed," Karin clasped her hands behind her head as she walked through the park. It was fairly late, about ten at night, and the park was deserted save for Karin and her unknown guardian. What she didn't know was that her night was going to get even more exhausting. When she was about halfway through the park, a rip opened up in the sky and a giant face covered in a bone mask with a long needle-like nose peeked out. Soon it was walking out of the hole, which closed up behind it, and looking around until it pinpointed Karin.

She was frozen momentarily by the enormity of the Hollow, what Urahara had classified as a Menos when describing the different types of Hollows to her the other day. After a second she shook herself and ran towards the slow-moving giant. Before she could make it too far however, she found herself frozen to the ground, literally. She looked down and saw ice encasing her feet and ankles, however the ice wasn't too cold. Just as soon as she looked back up at the Menos, she was stunned to see that it was disintegrating and a white blur was making its way towards her.

Once the blur stopped being, well blurry, Karin made out the features of a rather handsome young man, around seventeen or eighteen if Karin had to guess. He had pure white hair, which caused her to almost mistake him for an old man at first, but a wrinkle-free and tanned complexion. His sea-green eyes were large and seemingly closed off and looking at something Karin couldn't see. Although he was wearing the same black uniform Ichigo did as a Shinigami, he also had on a white coat of some sort. Even through the layers Karin could tell he was muscular and would have no problem taking her down if that was his wish. At the moment however, the Shinigami had that distant look in his eyes so it would probably be a few minutes until he noticed her.

_Unless of course he's the one who did this, then he's probably just biding his time until he gets done doing whatever he's doing then he'll kill me. So what I need to do right now is get out of this ice! What's that thing Yoruichi taught me to do the other day? Something about focusing my reiatsu into a certain part of my body to give it extra power… well here goes nothing!_

It only took a few seconds for Karin to focus enough reiatsu in her feet to break the ice. However, at the sound of breaking ice, the Shinigami broke out of his trance and put his full attention was on her. He scowled and Karin thought she might have seen a small vein in his forehead pop out slightly, "Do you have any idea how _stupid_ that was? You're a human girl, you can't just go running after a Menos like that thinking you have enough power to kill it! Besides, what are you doing out this late at night? There could be any number of creeps out there waiting to attack you, and you wouldn't be able to do anything! If Ichigo ever found out about this, he'd castrate me with Zangetsu before I could even say 'Menos!'" The Shinigami's voice was deceptively deep for how young he looked. It was rough and the annoyance in his tone caused Karin to think maybe he was a like this all the time: a little strung out and in need of relaxing.

"I knew what I was doing you dumb Shinigami," She bit out, causing the ranting man to pause and look at her, "I've been training with Yoruichi for a reason. Besides, who are you to tell me whether or not my actions were stupid? You went after the thing too so that makes you just as idiotic as me. As for Ichigo, he knows he won't be able to stop me from doing anything like this so he wouldn't be too surprised to hear I tried. Pissed? Yeah, but not surprised. So you go back to the Seireitei and don't bother me!" With that Karin stalked off towards home, leaving the stunned Shinigami behind.

* * *

To say that Toshiro was shocked by Karin's outburst would be an understatement. She had all the feistiness of Kurosaki compacted into the petite frame of a human teenager. As she turned around, the shock quickly wore off into annoyance and Toshiro had a hard time keeping his anger reined in. _Why that little… UGH! I don't know why I even bothered to follow her home, I'd rather have faced Ichigo coming after me than put up with her! And she knows almost everything about the Seireitei except for the fact that the Captains all wear haori's. I wouldn't be surprised if Kurosaki left that out on purpose._

_You are intrigued by her,_ Hyorinmaru mused in Toshiro's mind, _She has great potential, that much is certain. However, I would go after her and explain to her the predicament we all seem to have found ourselves in. She has a point however, she is not weak and she will not break if someone simply touches her. Now go after her and work something out with her. I do not want to see you lose this girl, she is already very special._

_I didn't ask you_, Toshiro thought back sullenly, but only heard rumbling laughter in reply. He complied with his dragon's orders however and shunpoed towards the quickly moving figure. Even if she had been training with Yoruichi, the amount of kido she had to have used to free herself from his ice, and after her training too, must have worn her out.

"Kurosaki!" It only took a few seconds for Toshiro to catch up, and when he did the middle Kurosaki child looked at him with distrust evident in her body language and eyes.

"Karin."

"Huh?" He couldn't help but be confused, just a moment ago she was telling him to leave her alone, and now she was telling him to call her by her first name?

"Karin. I hate being called Kurosaki because then people think about my brother. I want to be known for being me, not for being Ichigo's little sister so I insist on everyone calling my Karin." The girl seemed slightly embarrassed by her explanation, but tried not to let it show.

"Alright then, Karin," Toshiro relented, "It was still a stupid thing to fight while you were tired. It's one of the first things you learn at the Shino Academy; never fight while tired. You just got done training with Yoruichi on kido, I could feel the reiatsu being used from a mile away, and a Menos isn't an easy thing to beat. While they may not be able to use their arms, they have very powerful Ceros that they blast out of their mouths that could disintegrate you in a second. Now-" Before Toshiro could suggest that they get back to her house, Karin shoved him out of the way and he felt a powerful Cero blast past him.

"How come I didn't feel this Hollow's presence?" Karin questioned as they stopped to look at the beast. This one looked particularly humanoid, which was something that almost always spelled out trouble for Shinigami, most likely because this is a very smart Hollow, which means we should be careful, especially- hey, what are you doing?!" As Toshiro was about to take command and attack the Hollow, Karin was already one step ahead of him. She had run in front of the Hollow, channeled her reiatsu into one leg and kicked at the creature's face, the mask covering it being broken easily by the girl's strong kick.

"We didn't have time to waste," Karin said as she turned back towards Toshiro. The first thing that he noticed was how her face was abnormally pale, "Woah, I don't feel too great…" The teenager swayed on her feet and Toshiro dashed towards her before she could fall on the ground.

"Idiot," He chided softly. He picked the feint girl up in his arms and began walking to her house, "This is what I was talking about. You can't push yourself too hard, especially with kido. You lose energy too quickly and can't regain it back fast enough."

"I still knew what I was doing," Karin pouted before falling asleep with her head resting on Toshiro's chest. He looked down in surprise, then blushed and tried not to notice the way she almost seemed to cuddle into his chest. The moment was broken however by the appearance of Matsumoto.

"Captaaiin!" His Lieutenant was running towards him waving her arm in hello. She stopped short and fell quiet after she noticed the sleeping girl in Toshiro's arms, "Captain, have you been stealing girls out of their beds?"

"No," Toshiro ground out, "This is Kurosaki's sister Karin. She was walking home after a late practice with Yoruichi on kido and then she took out a Hollow. That's after she tried to take on a Menos!"

"Wow Captain, you sure seem to know her schedule well," Matsumoto grinned as her favorite boy genius noticeably blushed at the comment before snapping at her.

"That's because Kurosaki told me to keep an eye out for Karin especially. Now, I'm going to bring her back home and then we'll discuss splitting up duties here so I won't be missing out on the Captains meetings. I'm fairly certain Karin is a big part of the reason that Menos keep showing up here, and the Head Captain needs to know that." Without another word towards Matsumoto, Toshiro ran along the rooftops towards the Kurosaki household, and slipped into Ichigo's room where he placed Karin on the bed and awkwardly covered her up with the blanket before disappearing into the night.

* * *

Between school starting, and Karin beginning to train with Toshiro at night on kido instead of Yoruichi, the next three weeks passed by extremely quickly for Karin. While the strain of living a double life might cause other, weaker, humans to melt down, it only made Karin work harder. The strain didn't show on her at all, and no one even knew of her double life other than her father, Ichigo, those at the Urahara store and miscellaneous Shinigami.

Over the course of those three weeks, training sessions with Toshiro had become something she looked forward to. Surprisingly the two made a fairly good team in Hollow elimination as well. They were able to do the work of two or three Shinigami in a short amount of time. Often they ate together with Toshiro walking her home after duties and training. Soon enough she began to learn how to fight higher-level Hollows and even kido to stall a Menos until the Shinigami representative could be reached. Every day they spent a minimum of three hours together after school, and all of her friends were convinced that the two were dating when they once saw the two together during their training time. Along those lines, only one thing made these three hours a day awkward for Karin, and that was her growing crush on the handsome captain.

_Well,_ she thought one day while they were meditating, _I have always said that I'd only ever date a man stronger than me. And there's no if's and's or but's about it, I like Toshiro._ The conflicted teenager heaved a huge mental sigh before trying to clear her thoughts of anything Toshiro-related. Unfortunately that was rather difficult with him sitting right next to her.

Unknown to Karin however, Toshiro was having very similar issues. _How do I tell Karin that my time here is almost up? I've been here for two months and we've finally found someone to fill the position. They're not ready yet, but once they are they're going to have to work with Karin and I honestly don't know if I'd want to trust that guy with her._

_Well, Young One, SHE will work just fine with the young girl. Besides, how did you move on to calling her Karin and not Kurosaki? Are you two that close already?_

_I don't need love advice Hyorinmaru. I'm going to be leaving soon and Karin will move on with her life. It wasn't meant to be, and that's why human-Shinigami relationships are so frowned upon._

_Ah, but would you be willing to try and make it work? What is it you've told me you admire about her? Her strength, her personality minus the ever-present sarcasm or perhaps her loyalty towards those she loves. In any case, she is rather beautiful for a young human her age._

_Hyorinmaru,_ Toshiro warned, although the tips of his ears were turning slightly pink. His dragon friend only chuckled before replying.

_Now go, she's calling for you._

"Toshiro?" The Shinigami in question looked up, some of the distance in his eyes still present. It worried Karin, until she remembered about zanpakuto and their conversations with their Shinigami counterparts, "I was just going to go upstairs to grab something to drink before we start sparring, did you want anything?"

"Uh, no thanks," Toshiro replied before going back into a meditative state. Karin puffed her cheeks in a pout before climbing the tall ladder and grabbing a bottle of water from the shop and going back down the ladder. As she was climbing back down, she was startled by the abrupt arrival of Renji at the top.

"Hey Kurosaki Two," The red-head said as he stuck his head down the hole. He must have just gotten back from visiting Ichigo because she hadn't seen him or felt his reiatsu around at all. In surprise, she yelped and let go of the ladder. All the intelligent red-head could think to say in reply to that was, "Oh shit, Ichigo's going to kill me!"

Luckily for all those present, Toshiro snapped into action and was at the bottom of the ladder ready to catch Karin, which he did easily. However, he had not been anticipating gravity to pull her down so fast, and they tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs. The end result was Toshiro on the ground with Karin straddling him; her hands were on his chest and her lips dangerously close to his. He was the first to become aware of their positions and the tips of his ears burned pink, the rest of his face turning pink as well. After a moment of being stunned, Karin too realized their predicament and her face caught color from his. They quickly got up and turned away from each other, both blushing madly.

"Uh, sorry 'bout that," Renji said as he appeared in front of them and scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Do you think we can hide what just happened from Ichigo by any chance? I'd rather not die again so soon."

"No way in hell!" Karin spat, "What did you want anyway that made you think it was okay to scare me like that? You're lucky I don't just sic Toshiro on you!"

"Huh? Oh you mean Captain Hitsugaya?" Renji asked then shook his head, "Anyway he's the reason I'm here. You're going back to the Seireitei in four days, the permanent replacement is ready for the duty transfer, and she just needs to be here with you for a few days to get used to the place. But Head Captain Yamamoto says that if Karin is fine with missing a few days of school to do it then that would be just fine."

"Of course I wouldn't mind missing school!" Karin jumped at the option. Soccer had just ended a few days ago, so they had upped her training time and she could use those days to actually practice her skills. The only downfall, "Oh, but I guess that means you'll be going back right away then, huh Toshiro?"

"Gee, you just realize that?" The white-haired captain said as his eyebrow twitched at the girl's lack of thought at the moment, "If Karin's alright with that then I'll just stay the first day that she's here to make sure she does as she's told. Tell her to come immediately." Renji nodded as he flashed a wolfish grin at the two still slightly pink people before escaping through a gate to the Seireitei.

"Well, I've already convinced Ichigo to take me with him when he visits the Seireitei so I can 'learn the system before I'm in the system', so I'll see you pretty often I guess, huh?" Karin smiled brightly at Toshiro, but it was still a bit forced. She frowned after a moment of thinking, "But you won't be visiting here much will you?"

"No, it will most likely be Matsumoto coming to check on… I don't even know the new representative's name. Shit!" Karin smiled as Toshiro frantically tried to recall the woman's name, even though they'd been discussing it the night before.

"Mihane Shirogane." Karin said with a smirk. Toshiro looked at her like she'd grown another head so she continued, "Mihane Shirogane is her name. I can't believe you forgot a subordinates name! This is so funny!" Karin started laughing so hard tears sprang up in her eyes and Toshiro scowled at her. She, however, had grown immune to them and continued to taunt the man, "You're always so anal about everything, how could you forget?!"

"It just happened okay! It's not like you haven't forgotten anything ever," Toshiro snapped at Karin. She stopped laughing but continued to smile brightly at him. Before either of them could speak again, the gate opened and Renji stepped out with a young woman with light brown hair and glasses. Toshiro cleared his throat and Karin directed her smile to the woman, "You're here, good. Let's go, Karin you'll ride on my back."

"W-what?" Karin spluttered and Toshiro reveled in the sweet revenge.

"We're going to shunpo, it's faster and since you can't do that you need to be carried by one of us. Since Shirogane is just beginning here, it would obviously a better choice if you ride on my back," Toshiro stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the World. Renji snickered but wisely shut up and a heated glare from the middle Kurosaki. He cleared his throat as he was being glared at and the other three turned to look at him.

"Um, the Head Captain said he wanted to see you two and Ichigo right now and I was to show Shirogane around Karakura," Renji said and Toshiro and Karin looked at one another.

"Alright, we'll go and you'll show her around. Come on Karin," Toshiro said and Karin nodded. They walked into the gate and Karin was surprised.

"I thought only Shinigami could go through these gates?"

"After Urahara figured out a way to convert atoms into reishi for your brother and his friends to go through five years ago, we decided to modify the gates to allow humans through. Since they could only get through with a Hell Butterfly in the first place, we figured it was safe enough to do." Karin nodded at the satisfactory answer and the two walked in silence.

When they came to the end of the tunnel, they appeared on a tall cliff. In front of her, Karin could see twelve other people, whom she recognized as captains by the haori's they all wore. Some of them she recognized from Ichigo's and Toshiro's stories, and she guessed that the old man at the end of the group was the Head Captain. As soon as they were out of the gate, Karin put her guard up. Toshiro she knew she could trust, he just wasn't good at lying to her, but she didn't know the rest of the Captains as well.

"Hello," Karin said and she bowed to the group. Apparently this was unexpected because many of them raised their eyebrows. She mentally cursed her brother's lack of manners and resolved to change their thoughts that all of the Kurosaki's were ill-mannered. Her father, yes. Yuzu and her? Not really.

"Kurosaki Karin, we've heard some pretty interesting things about you from Captain Hitsugaya's reports," A man wearing a pink kimono over his haori said, pushing the straw hat on his head up to smile at her. Judging from his personality and lack of following the uniform guidelines he had to be Kyoraku Shunsui, Captain of the Eighth Division.

"Nothing too terrible I hope," Karin said with a wry grin. As Captain Kyoraku chuckled, they heard the sound of running footsteps and Ichigo appeared, panting, with a small dark-haired woman next to him.

"Sorry Yama, I had to finish taking a test when I got the message. Karin, what're you doin' here?" Ichigo asked as he got his breath back.

"We are here to give the two of you an ultimatum. Karin has been introduced to this world at roughly the same age as you Ichigo, so now we must decide where to continue from here. I want to give you both some voice in the matter. I have come up with an offer I believe you both will agree to. Karin will be an honorary member of the Tenth Division while she's alive seeing as how Captain Hitsugaya is in charge of Karakura. What do the both of you say?" Head Captain Yamamoto opened his eyes and looked at the two siblings.

"Sure," Karin shrugged easily, "Just don't expect me to be too much help at this point in time. I'm only in high school and seeing as how you have a perfectly capable Shinigami posted in Karakura, I see no reason why I would be needed for arbitrary things. Of course I'll help around Karakura, but I'm not going to come running at your every beck and call."

"Very well," The Head Captain conceded, "But once you die you will become a full-fledged Shinigami."

"Fine by me," Karin snorted then flushed when she realized what she did. It seemed her sarcastic nature couldn't be hidden, "Then if you don't mind, I'd like to go home to go meet my new partner in crime." The wording seemed innocent enough, but the tone of voice indicated she'd go whether they wanted her to or not. The Head Captain nodded his consent and Karin turned to go, Toshiro following her to make sure that she got through the tunnel safely while Ichigo stayed to talk to the Head Captain.

Once they had gotten through the tunnel, Toshiro stopped Karin before she could leave. She turned to give him a curious look, and was pleasantly surprised to feel the press of his lips against her forehead. She felt her face light up the color of Renji's hair as Toshiro leaned to whisper in her ear, "Be safe and don't do anything stupid."

His piece said, Toshiro started to turn back towards the gate, leaving a stunned Karin behind him. He felt a hand grab his arm and when he looked to see what Karin wanted, he felt her lips on his cheek, and soon the tips of his ears matched her cheeks, "You too Toshiro." With that, they parted ways for the time being. They knew they'd be able see each other again, but they didn't know when. They were willing to wait though, after all they had both of Karin's lifetimes to discover exactly what fate, or maybe a scheming Lieutenant, had in store for them. As it would turn out, that time wasn't as long as thought it'd be.

* * *

It was about six months after she had become an honorary member of the Tenth Division and Karin was walking along the street. She had the day off of school so she had decided to roam around town looking for any Pluses and Wholes to bring to Mihane to perform konso. In the past months they'd been able to help the majority of spirits get safely to the other side, so as a result the number of Hollows had been reduced slightly.

Had she been paying more attention, Karin would have realized that where she had stopped on the street corner was a bad place. What she didn't notice was a car, being driven by a young man too busy trying to find his map, edging its way onto the sidewalk. She leaned against the streetlight, waiting for the light to change, when the car sped towards her spot. The last thing her mind registered before blacking out was that she'd have three very pissed men to face: her father, her brother and Toshiro.

* * *

_Mwahahahaha! I left a cliffhanger so I have a feeling there's quite a few angry people out there reading this. The plan for this story is for it to be a two-shot, possibly three chapters but I doubt that. Well now, it's quite a change from my normal writing style, but I like it! So review and I'll get the next chapter posted as soon as possible. Until then,_

_-Charlotte_


	2. Her Death

Here's the second chapter, hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters.

* * *

Previously in Unplanned Meetings:

_It was about six months after she had become an honorary member of the Tenth Division and Karin was walking along the street. She had the day off of school so she had decided to roam around town looking for any Pluses and Wholes to bring to Mihane to perform konso. In the past months they'd been able to help the majority of spirits get safely to the other side, so as a result the number of Hollows had been reduced slightly._

_Had she been paying more attention, Karin would have realized that where she had stopped on the street corner was a bad place. What she didn't notice was a car, being driven by a young man too busy trying to find his map, edging its way onto the sidewalk. She leaned against the streetlight, waiting for the light to change, when the car sped towards her spot. The last thing her mind registered before blacking out was that she'd have three very pissed men to face: her father, her brother and Toshiro._

* * *

As soon as she woke up, Karin knew something was different about her death. Instead of looking like a normal spirit in the clothes she'd died in, she was wearing a black shihakusho, although she did lack the zanpakuto that all Shinigami had. Within a minute of waking up, people on the scene of the accident were starting to move around, and Karin was glad that none of the other people were dead, no one else would be forced to make the trip to the Soul Society with her. Another minute passed, and a woman screamed at the sight of Karin's mangled body.

_My body… shit Goat Chin isn't going to happy with me. Maybe once Mihane gets here I can quick run to tell him._

Karin finally looked at her body and grimaced; it wasn't a pretty sight. Just as the woman who had screamed was calling for an ambulance, Mihane showed up.

"Karin," The woman breathed, tears starting to well up slightly. In the time that they'd worked together the two had become close enough to call each other friends.

"I know Mihane, but on the bright side, maybe once I get through the Academy I'll be posted here since I'm so familiar with the area," Karin smiled. It wasn't too forced, it wasn't like she'd never seen her family again. They'd always beaten the odds when it came to this aspect of their lives, and Karin would be damned if she didn't break this statistic too. She wasn't a fool, she knew most spirits tended to forget their past lives in the World of the Living, but hopefully her change of clothing meant something. Not being able to see Yuzu was going to be the toughest part of the next chapter in her life, "But right now I need to go tell Goat Chin about this, and leave a note for Yuzu. Can you handle everything here?"

Mihane nodded and Karin ran off the scene to deliver the bad news. She remembered something Yoruichi had told her a month ago, when the two of them and Urahara had been seriously discussing going through with making Karin a Substitute in order to take over Mihane's job in Karakura and allow her to move to another area and work there. It's not that Karin wanted Mihane gone, but news from the Gotei 13 had been grim lately, talking about needing more agents in places like the Middle East. That wasn't what she was thinking about however, it was Yoruichi discussing learning shunpo. The exiled captain had explained the logistics of it, concentrating her reiatsu on the soles of her feet and using it to propel herself forward. She hadn't been able to do it in her human body, her instructors worried about the damage it could do to her body. Now that she was a spirit however…

_What've I got to lose? I might as well try it._

So Karin focused her reiatsu on the bottoms of her feet and was surprised when she was actually able to shunpo. Within a few seconds she was standing outside of her front door, just now thinking about what she was going to say, when the door opened to reveal her father. He had that serious expression on his face again, his eyes grim and sad.

"What happened?"

"A guy who was distracted hit me while I was waiting to cross the road. He's fine, there were no other deaths. I wanted to tell you and Yuzu before the call came in. Can- can I just leave her a note since she," Karin gulped and could feel tears in her eyes. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath then continued, "She won't be able to see me anymore."

"Of course," Her dad's eyes softened and he grabbed her into a strong hug. There were no flowery declarations of his love for his 'beautiful and grown up, darling daughter,' nor were there any alligator tears. He held her close and whispered how much he loved her, and how she had to get word to them as soon as possible, how proud he was of her strength and how she'll do great at the Shino Academy, "I'll come visit when I can, and I'll take Yuzu with me, and I'll tell Ichigo when the official call comes in."

Karin could only nod, the tears threatening to fall before turning her attention to writing a note to her twin. After what seemed like an eternity, she'd finished, wiping the tears burning her eyes away before they could escape then turned back to her father, when Mihane appeared outside the living room window. She looked upset and flustered before she cleared her throat to speak.

"Urahara and Yoruichi are on their way with Jinta and Ururu. They heard about the accident and the two children wanted to see you before you left," Mihane said with a grimace. She had never been a big fan of the unorthodox store owner. Karin simply nodded, she was going to enjoy intimidating Jinta.

"Don't scare the boy too much Karin, you'll scare him away from Yuzu," Her father spoke with a faint grin. Kurosaki Isshin was smart, he knew what his middle child would go through, the trials and tribulations. However he also knew that she had an advantage over the rest of the souls there and he'd hear from her before Yuzu and he had even gotten the chance to really grieve their loss. He chuckled as his close friends and their adopted charges barged into the room, only slightly frazzled around the edges. His lovely, graceful daughter did the first thing she could think of: punching Jinta in the chest.

"She cries, I'll find out then no one will ever find your body ever again, got it?" Karin growled out and Jinta nodded, freaking out, "Good. That's all for you. And Ururu, could you keep an eye out for her at school if you can please."

All she got was a hug and a good luck from Yoruichi and a sly grin from Urahara. Her father hugged her close to his chest one last time for what would be a while and she hugged back tightly, "Whatever happens Karin, I love you and I'm proud of you."

With those words of encouragement and a nod to Mihane, Karin looked up to see the handle of Mihane's zanpakuto descending towards her forehead, before everything went black once more.

* * *

When she awoke, Karin was in a completely new place. She could tell that it was the Soul Society, Rukongai to be exact, by the way everyone including herself was dressed. She was still dressed in a black shihakusho, but luckily in an alleyway between two buildings.

"Geez, Ichigo wasn't kidding when he said the difference between the Seireitei and Rukongai. I wonder how I can get to the Seireitei… maybe I can get word to Toshiro and he'll come and help me out," Karin mused out loud.

"Ichigo? Toshiro? You know some pretty powerful people dear," An old woman walked towards her and Karin scrambled up warily, "That is, if you are indeed talking about Kurosaki Ichigo and Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro like I think you are. Right now you're in the 60th District, not a very nice place to be passed out in an alleyway. Come back to my home and rest the night before making your journey all that way. I insist."

"I'd love to ma'am, but I promised my family I'd send word to them that I'm fine as soon as I was able, and I believe I'm perfectly able now," Karin replied, dusting herself off, "I can get food once I get to the Seireitei. Thank you for the very kind offer though." Karin bowed respectfully to the old woman before turning to walk out of the alley. She was, however, stopped by a hand gently placed on her upper arm.

"Then please take this money to buy yourself some food. If you can remember your family, and if you're wearing those clothes, then you must need food to keep you going. You must have great power my young dear," The old woman smiled and patted Karin's hand, putting the money there before letting go and allowing Karin to leave. She stepped out into the sun and straight into a large man's back.

"Sorry, I didn't see you," Karin said before walking the opposite way. Her luck was cut short when the man she'd run into roughly grabbed her upper arm.

"Hey bitch, you don't just run into me and walk away. You must be new of you don't know that you have to _repay_ me by offering your services. Maybe if you're good enough you might even get a reward," The man waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the comment and Karin openly gagged as she yanked her arm away and stalked off.

"Not if you were the last male being in this universe," Karin yelled behind her. She felt the man approaching so she spun around and punched him in the nose, knocking him down immediately. Then she started running before using shunpo to begin running towards what she hopped would be the Seireitei. In a few minutes she finally arrived at the wall leading to the Seireitei, and stood in front of a gigantic gate guarded by as equally as giant man.

"I need to get into the Seireitei to see Kurosaki Ichigo. I'm his sister Kurosaki Karin," She called up to the man, "And what day is it?"

"You're Karin? Hold on, I need to call for Ichigo. He'll be relieved you're back finally," The giant man began speaking quietly to a something in his hand that Karin couldn't see before sending it off. He smiled down at her and kneeled so their faces were slightly closer. He grinned before continuing, "He says you've been dead fer three days and he hasn't seen a sign of you anywhere. You shoulda seen him asking me when he first got here!" The man laughed loudly before standing back up. Off on the other side of the wall Karin could feel a heavy reiatsu coming towards them. Within a few a seconds there was a pounding on the door and Karin could hear her brother calling out her name along with what she assumed to be the gate keeper's name.

The man quickly leaned down and started lifting the door, leaning it on his shoulders as he opened the gate completely. Karin saw Ichigo standing on the other side, and even from a distance she could tell he hadn't slept well in the three days she'd been gone. His clothing was rumpled and his hair disheveled even looking slightly duller than the usual vibrant orange, there were bags under his eyes and the way he sagged in relief suggested he'd been extremely worried. Karin hurriedly walked through the gate so that the man didn't have to hold it for too long.

"Thank you very much," She said and bowed to him as he dropped the gate, closing off her view of both the large man and Rukongai. As soon as the gate crashed down, Ichigo was broken out of whatever daze her had been in, shaking himself before running towards Karin and wrapping his arms around her. He wasn't crying, but Karin could hear the telltale signs of him holding them back so he wouldn't cry in front of the crowd gathering around them. His voice was thick and he was shaking with held-in sobs.

"Idiot! You'd been training for how long and you die just like that?!" He whispered harshly as he held on to Karin. She hugged him back fiercely as she held back tears of her own, "I was so worried about you, Yuzu's been crying for days knowing that you're alive but she can't and won't be able to see you for a long time. Hell, even Dad's been acting less dramatic and it's freaking me out. And I wasn't even there to say goodbye or prevent this from happening!"

"Ichigo," Karin whispered softly as she rubbed her brother's back, "Even if you had been in Karakura, or even right next to me, it wouldn't have changed anything. I would have died. I'm sorry I didn't stay until you got back, but even with shunpo it would've taken you too long to get there and I would've been at high risk of being eaten by a Hollow or becoming one. There's nothing you could have done to stop this so stop blaming yourself you stupid Strawberry!"

Her brother let out a choked laugh as he brought her closer. They remained like this for several moments, both completely unaware of the people watching them until one person shouted to make his presence known.

"KARIN! MY BEAUTIFUL BAB-EEP!" Karin and Ichigo both held out their fists as their father ran towards them, apparently back to his normal over-dramatic routine. Karin could hardly believe three days ago this man had been as serious looking as Ichigo. The two siblings smiled at each other and high-fived, even though the moment was ruined they hugged one last time, "My children are so mean to their dad! And they're both strong," Isshin pouted as he sat up and rubbed the two growing bumps on his head. The crowd started to disperse, the Shinigami all going back to the jobs they'd been doing previously, until another person joined the family.

"Karin?" Compared to the other greeting she'd gotten, this one was underdone. Karin peeked around her brother's over-grown form and quickly released him from her hug. A few feet away the speaker was standing, looking almost as disheveled as Ichigo had.

"Toshiro," Karin breathed and the onlookers looked towards the normally well put together captain, waiting for the usual snap of 'It's Captain Hitsugaya.' They were stunned when the complete opposite happened and instead the stoic Captain walked quickly to the mystery girl named Karin who was wrapped in another hug. At this point they were all wondering who this girl was. In the few minutes she'd been here she'd been allowed into to Seireitei already wearing a shihakusho and had been grabbed by the frantic Substitute, a former Captain and now the stoic Captain Hitsugaya.

The two were holding each other close, like if they let go of each other the other would disappear. Before he had left, they were close friends, possibly on the way to becoming something more. The last time they'd met flashed through both of their minds, the chaste kiss on the forehead and cheek causing a light dust of pink on Karin's cheeks and Toshiro's ears. As Karin tried to stubbornly dispel the blush, Toshiro leaned down and whispered into her ear, "I thought I told you not to do anything stupid you idiot. I thought it was fairly obvious that dying was included in the category of stupid."

"And you think that I wanted to die?" Karin retorted back and pulled back, softly ruffling Toshiro's hair, "Now, where do I go to sign up for the Shino Academy?"

* * *

Almost a year had passed since Karin had been admitted into the Shino Academy, and what an eventful year it was. She had been tested, and it was decided that going in as a first year there would be a waste of everyone's time. With the training from three former captains she'd gotten in the World of the Living, it was apparent that she was equivalent to a Shinigami in their fifth year of schooling, even someone in their last year, but they wanted to make sure she understood their world completely. Tomorrow she would be going to the Introduction Ceremony for the new students, and she'd been in her graduating year as well. Currently she was sitting in the last Hollow Theory Class she was serving as teacher's aide in (as absurd as it sounds, the class was extremely helpful. It taught the students how to deal with Hollows who were sane enough to actually strategize and fight back.) and she smiled at the memory of her first few days.

_Day One:_

"_Are you sure you have everything you need?"_

"_Yes Ichigo, I do. Besides, all that we have to do today is go to the Introduction Ceremony," Karin replied as she rolled her eyes at her brother. He ruffled her hair before shooing her off to go to class. Once she got to the Academy, Karin found an empty seat amidst the crowd of student and listened while the Head Captain made the yearly speech on what their jobs as students was. Just as the surprisingly short speech was finished and Karin was about to go meet her teachers, she was surrounded. Ready for a fight, Karin looked up to see she was surrounded by a few of the Captains. To be exact, Captains Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Unohana came to talk to her._

"_Ah Kurosaki, I've heard plenty about your adventures in the World of the Living from Mihane's reports. You sound like a fun person to have in my Division," Kyoraku grinned mischievously as Lieutenant Ise walked over and lightly smacked her Captain/fiancée on the back of his head._

"_Yes Kurosaki-chan I think that many Captains are quite eager to see your potential, especially seeing as how you were the one to pass the entrance exam with the highest scores." Captain Ukitake said with a soft smile. While she didn't say anything, Captain Unohana also smiled at Karin before the four Shinigami moved on to talk to others. Karin shook her head at the short but odd conversation and got up to meet her teachers. She had made it about twenty feet before she was stopped by another person._

"_What, you're a student now and unable to even say hello to me?" Toshiro smirked as Karin rolled her eyes._

"_Come one Toshiro, I need to go and meet my teachers before tomorrow and I highly doubt that they want to stay here all day," Karin stuck her tongue out at her friend/long-time crush. He followed her as they both ignored the baffled looks from the other students, "You think you're going to come with me? Nuh-uh Toshiro, people are already talking about me being 'THE Kurosaki Ichigo's sister' and how I'll be just as amazingly and freakishly strong like him."_

_There was a collective gasp as Karin walked away again, Toshiro still smirking towards her. Matsumoto walked over to him grinning broadly, "She sure isn't anything like Hinamori, huh Captain? She's going to be a challenge for you."_

"_Yeah, she is different from Momo," Toshiro nodded in agreement with the smirk still on his face, "But it'll be an interesting challenge. We both know the other most likely has feelings for the other, so I'll have to wait and see."_

"_There's only one issue with that logic Captain."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_You're both more stubborn than mules."_

It hadn't been until a few weeks ago that Matsumoto had told her about that last little conversation between the two. Karin could almost see Toshiro spluttering in indignation before telling Matsumoto to get back to work.

_Month Six:_

"_Karin, I have paperwork to do."_

"_But we just got out for a week after we finished our exams. I was at the top of my class by a long shot by the way Mr. I-Care-But-Don't-Want-Anyone-To-Know-I-Do. So come on, you know you don't want to be cooped up inside on a nice warm day like this." Karin sat down on top of the stack of paperwork waiting to be done next to Toshiro's desk. He grimaced at the sight and Karin grinned, "Besides, Ichigo's been going crazy with the destruction these past few days during Hollow elimination at his college and I know you could use a break from having to sign the reports from them. Especially when in total the pile is tall enough for me to sit on it and have my feet dangle off the ground."_

_Toshiro checked and groaned when he realized she was right, "Fine, but only one game of soccer, then you're coming back here and helping me clean up the office."_

"_Only if I get some food outta it," Karin grinned cheekily and it turned into a full-fledged smile when Toshiro mumbled something about persuasiveness, "Good, let's go!"_

_The two walked out of the office and towards the open field the 10__th__ Division members cleared out of whenever Karin walked in with that ball. No matter what happened, their Captain always agreed to play soccer with the Academy student. They greeted the girl as she walked past with her hands clasped behind her head, having successfully forced Toshiro to hold the ball. She smiled and said hi back. _

_The two played until late into the afternoon, until finally they had agreed the game would end in a tie no matter what, at a low-scoring game of 1-1. They went inside, grabbing some noodles to eat while cleaning. Once they were done they sat down on the couch, Karin having done the cleaning while she insisted Toshiro finished his paperwork. The end result was two exhausted Shinigami who were still hungry._

"_I'll go get more noodles," Karin offered and Toshiro nodded. She walked to the nearest stand and bought enough for the two of them before walking back. When she got back into the office, she wasn't surprised to see Toshiro had fallen asleep, so she woke him up as gently as she could. She sat on his lap and ruffled his hair with a soft smile, taking in the almost child-like appearance the fully-grown Toshiro had as he slept. In his sleep he grabbed her and pulled her closer to herself so she flicked him on the forehead. He woke up with a start and stuttered as redness erupted on his ears, "I didn't know you were a sleep cuddler Toshiro."_

"_Sh-shut up and eat your damn noodles!" Toshiro retorted. Karin laughed loudly, not exactly a lady-like laugh or a tinkling laughter like her sister, but almost a rough and raucous noise. They ate in relative silence, Karin finished before Toshiro and rested her head on his shoulder while he finished, telling her a story about one of his first times in the World of the Living when he'd first become a Shinigami. He asked her a question, and all he got in reply was a soft snuffling sound. He turned his head to see that she'd fallen asleep. He saw the signs of the stress Karin had been under while studying and training to maintain the top spot in her year at the Academy, "Idiot, you shouldn't have worn yourself out so much."_

_He set the now-empty container on the table and gently moved Karin's head onto his lap and leaned against the back of the couch, asleep within seconds. _

The next morning they'd been woken up by Matsumoto's squeals when she'd discovered the two asleep. Sometime during the night Karin had managed to curl up and Toshiro had pulled her onto his lap to use as a blanket. By then she'd gotten her own zanpakuto, which she now proudly kept sheathed by her side at almost all times.

"Kurosaki, if you're done day dreaming, could you answer my question the students couldn't?" The teacher asked and looked disapprovingly at the young woman who was currently his aide in class. She definitely deserved the top rank, but sometimes she got that dreamy look in her eyes and he questioned what she was thinking about. It was common knowledge that the student remembered her life before her death, it earned her a lot of questions, "The question was what is the difference between a Vasto Lord and an Arrancar? It is highly unlikely to ever come across either of them, but it's important for them to know, especially for their test in five minutes."

"A Vasto Lord is the highest classification of a Menos, but they are still for the most part incapable of thought processes other than ways to gain their next meal. Arrancar however are Hollows that have taken off their masks and gained powers similar to that of a Shinigami," The almost asleep girl answered without moving from her slightly slouched over position, "And as Tosh- ugh I mean Captain Hitsugaya had once stated if a Vasto Lord was to become an Arrancar such as Tier Harribel did, then they would become virtually unbeatable."

"Very nicely put Kurosaki. You may go back to daydreaming if you wish, because while you may be done for a few days they're not," The teacher said and the students chuckled at the unfortunate woman.

"Thanks Teach, now I remember why you're my favorite!" Karin managed to drawl out while grinning brightly at him.

* * *

The next day was a nuisance for Karin. Since she was at the top of her class at the Academy she was expected to stand on stage this year as the graduating top student. As a result she actually had to make an attempt to look nice for the students, which meant keeping her hair which almost reached mid-back down instead of in a ponytail like she normally did. _I really need to cut this again._ Just as she was about to step out the door there was a knock and Karin opened the door to reveal her favorite Tenth Division Lieutenant smiling brightly at Karin.

Matsumoto didn't waste time as she dragged Karin towards the Academy, "I never realized that not having a hangover in the morning works wonders for becoming a morning person! This almost makes me want to stop drinking!" Matsumoto smiled even wider and Karin seriously questioned whether or not the Lieutenant was sober like hadn't been drinking like she said. However before she could ask the older woman Matsumoto continued, "But not quite of course! I'll be getting back on track as soon as today's over."

"There's the Matsumoto I know and love," Karin grinned in reply and the two finally reached the entrance to the Academy. Only a few minutes later the ceremony began, and it was as pointless as Karin though it'd be. All she did was stand there with the Captains and Lieutenants while Head Captain Yamamoto gave the same speech as last year.

_Geez, I've been dead a whole year, and I've only seen Yuzu once a month on our days off._ Karin clapped as Yamamoto finished then hurried off the stage so as not to get caught up in the crowd.

"Once again you hurry off without a word to me," Toshiro stood in Karin's path and she smirked at the man. He looked at her warily, whenever she got that smirk it was never a good sign. In the past six months since that night when they'd fallen asleep on the couch they hadn't been able to see each other except for once in a great while. Mihane had needed help in the World of the Living since Karin wasn't there and wouldn't be for a while so Toshiro had spent last month there helping her out.

"You think I wanted to? I can't stand all of these people looking at me as Ichigo's little sister or 'The Girl Who Can Remember' as the gossip column of the Academy newsletter calls me. I just want to get through this next year as quickly as possible to escape that. Besides, I haven't taken any new courses I don't already know about and it doesn't look like I'm going to this year," Karin pouted as she sat down on a bench. Toshiro sat down next to her, chuckling.

"How has Kurosaki been lately? I haven't seen too many reports about destruction with his name on it for a while," Toshiro said as his best friend and crush sagged against him after her rather tiresome morning.

"I haven't been able to actually talk to him face to face much these past few weeks because he's taking on more of a workload so he can get out of college sooner. He wants to be able to protect Yuzu and he can't do that when he's not even in Karakura," Karin said and turned so her back was leaning against Toshiro's shoulder and she covered her eyes with her forearm.

"Oh, and not you?"

"Eh, he mighta said that too but I stopped listening once I realized I need to double my classes up so that I can graduate early as well and get back to Karakura," Karin replied.

"Don't stress yourself out too much, besides, you're going to have to deal with all the Captains trying to get you into their Divisions. You may not be your brother in terms of freakish strength and never-ending reiatsu storage, but you're much stronger than the average graduate as well as being the number one rank in your class. Not to mention your great battle strategizing abilities," Toshiro said as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through some of her hair. Karin grunted in response before slowly getting up.

"Come on, you've gotta get to work and I have to show new students around," Karin said as she held her hand out to Toshiro. He took it and she helped pull him up. Toshiro, who had used a little too much power getting up, got up too fast and wasn't able to stop himself. The end result was him falling on top of Karin with one of his knees between her legs. They both stood up quickly and dusted themselves off without looking at one another.

Before Toshiro could leave however, Karin kissed him on the cheek and shunpoed away, leaving her loud laughter behind her. Toshiro stood frozen, until Renji had walked over to ask him a question. Then he shook his head and answered before hurrying to his office.

* * *

Over the next two months it had become a sort of game to Karin. Although she couldn't admit it yet, her growing feelings for the 10th Division Captain had to be expressed somehow. Whereas other girls may have made him snacks and treats, or written sappy stories and poems, she enjoyed teasing the poor man until his entire ears had turned a red to match Renji's hair. Her number one favorite thing to do in order to achieve this was giving the man a kiss on the cheek. She had to be careful about how often she did it however, otherwise her goal wouldn't be achieved by doing that.

In return, Toshiro had taken to trying to keep her where she couldn't achieve her goal. Sometimes he'd make sure their positioning wouldn't allow that, or other times he turned the game onto her by showing affection in his own way, whether it was his own kiss on the forehead or the odd hug here and there. So far Karin was winning, but Toshiro was making a comeback.

At this moment in time however, Karin was in her room at the Academy waiting for her brother to get there so they could go out. Both of them had time off and they could finally get together for the first time in a long time. Just as he was about to be late, Karin heard a knock on the door, and she opened it to reveal her brother.

"Finally, I thought you were going to be late," Karin grumbled and shut the door behind her. The two went to a restaurant nearby and were able to sit down right away.

"What's happened in the time I've been gone? How are classes? Woah," Ichigo said, as a suddenly dazed look passed though his eyes along with slight pain and anger, "My little sister is going to graduate from the Shino Academy before me."

"Ichigo," Karin sighed before flicking the man between the eyes, successfully gaining his attention, "I've told you time and time again that it's not your fault I got hit by a car. Hell, the poor kid was more freaked out that he killed me than I was to be dead. Besides, it's not like it's stopped you form being able to see me ever again."

"But still-" Ichigo started, frustrated at this point before changing the subject at a glare from his sister, "So how's Toshiro?"

"He's been fine, why?" Karin asked, tilting her head at her brother.

"Huh, I thought you two woulda been together by now," Ichigo scratched his head while his sister almost spit out her water.

"Wha-what? Why'd you think that?!" Karin sputtered and attracted a strange look from her brother.

"Well you two have been really close since you came here, and he came to me a few months ago asking if it was okay if he asked you out. I said yeah as long as he didn't mess with you," Ichigo scowled, "Has he been messing with you?"

"No, that's why I'm surprised!" Karin said as her face turned an unhealthy shade of red.

"Huh. Then I guess you didn't know that you were getting to graduate early, did you?"

"WHAT?!" Karin stood up, forgetting about the last comment about Toshiro, "When did you find this out?"

"It's why I was late, the teachers were saying that the schooling wasn't a challenge for you so they thought you should graduate sooner rather than later. You're moving to the Tenth Division next week," Ichigo said, his sister disappearing as soon as the last words were out of his mouth, "Glad to know she was so excited to talk to me."

Karin raced to Toshiro's office, not stopping to say hello to the comrades she'd made over the past year. She burst into the room and stood there, panting from the run.

"Karin?"

"I'm graduating?" Karin panted.

"Yeah, I take it Ichigo told you?" Toshiro said with his signature smirk as he leaned back in his chair.

"He told me some other interesting things as well," Karin grinned and stalked toward her new Captain, "So when were you planning on actually asking me out Toshiro? You asked Ichigo a few months ago."

"Uh, um, funny story," Toshiro said and he stood up to move away from the advancing girl, "I was planning on telling you when you graduated, since I'd made a promise to myself to wait until you were done with school. But now that you're practically done," He moved towards Karin, causing her to start backing up now. She kept moving until her knees hit the couch and she sat down hard. Toshiro kept coming towards her until he put his hands on the back of the couch and leaned in front of her face, "There's nothing stopping me. And unless you say something now, I'm going to assume that your actions the past couple of months mean you feel the same way."

All Karin could do was nod before their lips finally met each other instead of the other person's cheek or forehead. The feeling that came from the contact caused warmth to flood through their veins and electricity to crackle across their skin. The kiss could have lasted a few seconds, minutes or even hours, but was rudely interrupted.

"Oh Captain you sly dog! I knew you'd finally get the nerve to kiss Karin!" Matsumoto said and the two broke apart quickly, one flustered the other glaring at his Lieutenant. She grinned at the two before throwing something shiny at them and running out the door, calling behind her, "Just don't forget to use protection and maybe buy a new couch for in here!"

Toshiro held up the object and a blush burned his face then Karin's did as well as they realized that Matsumoto had thrown a condom at the two of them, "MATSUMOTO!"

Karin laughed loudly before ruffling her boyfriend's hair and getting up, "Oh well Toshiro, we're gonna have to put up with it. Now I'm going to go and pack up."

Karin had a new life ahead of her. She wasn't about to forget all of the aspects of her old one such as her family, but now she had to prepare for the future.

* * *

_I had to end it cheesy... I couldn't resist! I'd love to give a HUGE shout-out to _BosRonald _for pointing out a mistake of information I made in the first chapter considering the gate into the Seireitei. It should be fixed by now, but I just wanted to say thank you! That's all for now friends, so review your hearts out!_

_-Charlotte._


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